Crows and Salamanders
by Crystal Manning
Summary: Rolf Scamander can't charm every witch he meets. Rolf/OC


Melanie frowned at the heavy book that lay in her hands. Around her a lot of women—mainly a large amount of giggling girls—filled the shop. Any free space there was left in Flourish and Blotts was taken up by the carbon dioxide that was breathed out by the patrons. Melanie had gotten elbowed so many times ever since she first walked in she was read y to hex everyone in there.

All of the commotion was due to the release of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2nd Edition, _by Newt Scamander's grandson, Rolf. Apparently he picked up where his father left off in his edition but this one included a more in-depth look on a few of the creatures that were highlighted before as well as a few more added in the index and a section in the back for known Magizoologists.

Melanie was only getting the book because her grandmother and her mother were mentioned in it—and her love for creatures got the better of her—otherwise she would've avoided the shop altogether. Every where she looked posters of Rolf hung up and were moving to show different angles of his perfect face as he smiled for the women who were pointing at his picture and swooning.

"Oh, get a grip," she muttered, feeling her lip curl in disgust. He wasn't all _that_. She turned her head slightly to look at the large picture closest to her. The picture version of Rolf caught her eye and winked at her. She could practically feel his cocky attitude lifting off of the paper and tugged at her nerves.

She turned on her heel and took the stairs up to the second floor of the bookshop where there were less women and she let out a sigh of relief, finally being able to breathe. She was glad that they were buying the book—what better way to educate themselves about the creatures inhabiting their world—but the fact that they were buying it because of his _face_ made her want to burn every single book within her reach.

She had been trying to decide which book to buy—_Magical Monsters and Me_ or _Dragons, Dragons, Everywhere_—when the shop suddenly broke into applause. She turned and leaned over the railing to see a head of brown hair bobbing in the crowd, stopping every now and then to flash a smile at a girl who then promptly turned to her friends and squealed while stepping rapidly on the ground, much like a potbellied pig did.

Melanie's grumbling stomach was barely heard over the sound of applause that broke out into the shop as soon as Rolf was introduced. She dug in her pockets for the right amount of money to pay for the book so she could get right out of there.

"Will that be all today, love?" The elderly witch behind the counter asked as she reached out with shaking hands to accept the money that Melanie held out to her.

"Yes, thank you," Melanie replied with a small nod.

"Oh, dearie, the author is here you know," the witch said as she pointed a shaky finger at a picture that hung by her table.

"Really? I didn't notice," Melanie said sarcastically, but it seemed to fall flat on the witch.

"If you wait in line he could sign the book for you," the elderly witch continued.

Melanie gave a kind smile. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have to go now. Thank you again."

"Come back any time, love," the witch said with a smile.

"I will. _Au revoir_." Melanie waved at the witch over her shoulder and stepped out onto the busy cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley. Melanie took a deep breath of the air and sighed. She loved the atmosphere of Diagon Alley, little kids running around in excitement while women bustled in and out of stores buying supplies and the men stood around and talked about the latest Quidditch scores. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, it was enough for her to Apparate to and from her home in Montreal to spend the day there.

While she stuffed her new book into her bag her stomach rumbled again. Looking around for a place to eat her green eyes rested on the sign for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. She licked her lips at the thought of eating a large strawberry ice cream with walnuts and waffle cone bits. She rushed across the street and eagerly entered the shop.

She let out an audible groan when she saw the line. Of course it would be packed on this time of day. It was a pleasant day over the summer and ice cream would be the ideal treat to get.

"Come on, come on," Melanie muttered, looking at her pocket watch and letting out an impatient sigh. She just wanted ice cream, was that so hard to ask? The influx of people had to be from Scamander, no doubt. Melanie rolled her eyes at the fact that he _actually_ had posters of himself hanging around her favorite shop. He had an ego so inflated it'd probably save the entire wizarding population from falling out of the sky.

She actually let out a little laugh at her thought. It was a little harsh, she admitted, but it made her feel better about the wait. The line moved slowly—much like the Flobberworms she studied at Beauxbatons and Hogwarts—so she pulled out the book she just bought and immersed herself in the pages, shuffling forward every now and then as the line slowly moved.

"Good book?" Florean Fortescue asked as soon as Melanie reached the counter. Her voice successfully pulled her from the world of dragons. She looked up at him and gave him a kind smile.

"It'd be better if his face weren't so big," she replied, motioning to the large picture of Rolf that was placed in the back.

"That's Scamander's grandson, aye?" Fortescue asked. She nodded. "He really knows what he's talking about, that man."

Melanie stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "Well, considering he's related to Newt I should hope so," she replied.

"Your usual then?"

"Yes sir. I'll be sitting out at that table."

"Alright. I'll bring it out shortly."

"_Merci beaucoup_."

Melanie took her book to a table outside of the shop and went back to reading about dragons while she waited for her food to arrive. She was just getting to reading extra notes about the Hungarian Horntail when the person at the table next to her started to tap their fingers loudly against the table.

"Come on! _Come on_! I ordered my ice cream, like, _an hour ago_!" The male next to her called out, yelling loud enough that Fortescue was sure to hear him.

"Hey, can't you see that it's flooded in there?" Melanie demanded, glaring at him. Her glare seemed to intensify as soon as she recognized who it was that had yelled. Rolf Scamander, of course. He lifted a perfectly groomed dark eyebrow while his blue eyes locked on her. "Why don't you wait like normal people and actually be respectful towards the man who owns this establishment. It won't kill you." Then she paused. "Or maybe it should," she added and then turned to look back at her book. It didn't hold her attention for long as Rolf had gone back to tapping his fingernails against the table, this time coupled with sighs of impatience. "_Do you mind_?" She barked at him, her bright green eyes flashing.

A smirk slid on his features and she felt the urge to want to rearrange his face. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized before standing. Melanie lifted her eyebrows and watched as he walked over to her table. Her mouth fell open as soon as he took her book out of her hands. A quill magically appeared in his free hand and he began to write something in the book.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" She barked, standing up. She lightly bit the inside of her cheek as he looked down at her. Standing at around 5'10", 5'11" he easily towered over her 5'2" frame.

"Giving you an autograph," he replied as if it were the most obvious answer on the planet. "I understand that you didn't want your friends to see you getting one. Don't worry about it, you don't have to be embarrassed," he said with a wink before he went back to scribbling. "So, love, what's your name?"

At that moment Melanie knew it was a good idea to change her hair to red because it was matching the color she was seeing. How dare he? How dare he sit there and act like a pompous jerk and then just _assume_ that she'd fall for him and kiss his feet?

"It's Melanie and what I'm embarrassed about is talking to tosspot like you," Melanie spat. The smirk dropped from Rolf's face but the confident look in his eyes remained and seemed to be mixed with amusement. She snatched her book out of her hands and made a face. "And _don't_ call me 'love'!" She added.

Rolf held his hands up and laughed. "A little feisty," he noted, laughing a little, which enraged her even more. "You might want to pull your knickers out of her arse before you speak to someone else. An innocent bystander would get their head bitten off."

"You're hardly an innocent bystander," Melanie replied, shoving her book into her bag.

Just then Fortescue came out carrying both Rolf's and Melanie's ice creams—one what looked like a jumbo-sized chocolate fudge sundae and the other a normal portioned strawberry with walnuts—placing them both on the table that Melanie had been occupying. "Mr. Scamander, that'll be seven sickles and for your, Ms. Crowe, that'll be five."

_That ice cream's about the same size as his ego_, Melanie mused as she dug around in her jean capris pockets for her money.

"I can handle it, love," Rolf said as he reached onto his pocket and pulled out a handful of colored change. He counted out the amount of change needed out loud, as if he wanted Melanie to be sure that Melanie knew he had money.

"I'd rather you didn't," Melanie replied, shoving the money into Fortescue's hand. As if he was able to feel the tension he muttered about having other customers and rushed off.

Rolf stood by and watched as Melanie put her money back in her pocket and reached for her bowl. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot. I hate that I upset someone as pretty as you, love, it only puts frown lines in that beautiful face. So why don't I make it up to you and take you out?" He asked smoothly. Melanie huffed and glared at him. She completely had it when he added, "Being seen on a date with me would sure to place a smile on that face." He lightly touched her chin and winked again.

"Your head's swelling a bit too much," Melanie said as she turned and grasped the base of her ice cream bowl. "Here's something cold to make it go down." With that she dumped her ice cream over her head and placed the bowl on top like a hat.

Then she turned on the spot and Disapparated, popping back up in the kitchen of her home. "Here's your stupid book, I got an autograph as well," Melanie told her mother, who had been seated at the table, and dropped the book on it. _Unwillingly_, she added as an afterthought as she turned to take the stairs to her room. She figured a good few hours of mucking out the horse boxes would get her to calm down and focus on something more than how amazing Rolf's blue eyes were.

* * *

><p><em>This is a story I wrote for the Harry Potter roleplay group I'm in on tumblr. The girl is my OC, Melanie Crowe and she's a self-proclaimed future magizoologist. I thought of what it would be like if she ever met Rolf Scamander, the grandson of Newt Scamander whom she idolizes, and finds out that he's a cocky, self-confident person that grates on her nerves. Basically this is how I see their relationship would play out.<em>

_If you want to join the RP group I'm in shoot me a pm, even if you're just thinking about it. We need more people and I'd die to have a Rolf join._

_~C.M._


End file.
